Coming Together During Our Worst Disaster
This year, B.C. faced one of the most devastating natural disasters in our history. Communities in the Fraser Valley were devasted by floods that submerged farmlands, killed livestock in the thousands, washed away bridges, destroyed highways, and sadly claimed the lives of family members. The flood is the most costly disaster we have ever experienced in the province and it will take months and years to rebuild and recover.
With the devastation also came great bravery and solidarity as British Columbians and Canadians responded with great heart. At The Salvation Army, our Emergency Disaster Services personnel went into immediate response mode. From day one, we were on the ground providing food and hydration to first responders and evacuees. We set up our incident command centre in Abbotsford, deployed our EDS vehicles to the hardest-hit areas, and worked side-by-side with Emergency Management B.C. to help communities in dire need.
We were able to do this because of the great response from donors across the province, country, and the world. In only a couple of days, we raised over $1 million, which went immediately to support the hardest-hit communities in their response effort. To date, we have raised close to $2 million, which will continue to go to those communities to help immediate and long-term recovery. We are working closely with municipal leaders, including those in the Indigenous communities to ensure the funds are getting to the most critical areas.
We want to thank our donors for putting the trust in us to manage their gifts responsibly and efficiently as we support those impacted by this disaster. We would also like to say a special thank you to the team at Z95.3 who partnered with us to do a one-day fundraising blitz that helped us raise over $600,000. We would also like to thank companies such as Telus and Craftsman Collision who stepped in at this critical time to support their communities. But most of all we want to thank you, our loyal and committed donors for going above and beyond so that we could support individuals and families during this very difficult time. Thank you.
A full report will be made available for our next newsletter.
Because of the generosity and support of donors like you, we are able to help families across B.C. and continue Giving Hope Today … and every day. And we thank you.
